FORT COLLINS IS IN LOVE WITH THE PATTI FIASCO
By: Rebecca LaPole
On February 13th, The Patti Fiasco is musically “marrying” Mama Lenny and the Remedy at Hodi's Half Note in Old Town Fort Collins. “Our bands have been in love with one another for some time, so in the Valentine’s spirit, we’re hosting a very romantic and collaborative performance between our two bands at Hodi’s,” lead singer Alysia Kraft says.
Kraft knows about the love and support available in Fort Collins and the Front Range music scene. “I spent the last year going back and forth between Austin, TX (live music capital of the world), and Fort Collins. The experience made me infinitely grateful to have rooted my music career here. The fan support in Fort Collins is unique. There are so many people enthusiastic about the scene here, so many folks who appreciate live shows and seek them out. Austin is completely inundated by talent. You can go to mind blowing shows every night of the week. But, it might be you and the bartender watching the best singer/songwriter in Texas play for a pitcher of PBR. Fort Collins musicians have it good and it’s thanks largely to local support.”
Peter Knudson, a Northern Colorado staple who offers incredible support on the drums, is the latest addition to the talented band that backs Kraft as The Patti Fiasco. Lead guitarist, Dee Tyler, and Kraft found each other at an open mic in Laramie and conceived the band in 2008. A couple years later they added bassist, Niles Mischke, and Dee's high school buddy, Ansel Foxley, who was the winner of the 2007 RockyGrass dobro competition and according to Kraft, “frankensteined an electric dobro ... I’m pretty sure they all fell straight from heaven,” Kraft says. “These guys are beyond family to me. I feel so fortunate to make music with such a talented, sweet-hearted crew.”
With all those nice, romantic words, one would think that Kraft is enjoying the fruits of the labor of love in every area of her life. But when asked about her love life, she admits it's “difficult. Don’t fall in love with someone from Texas if you have a band you love in Colorado.”
When Kraft isn't traveling between the two states that hold the things she loves, she says, “I cook and paint and spend time outdoors. But mostly, I play and write music and hustle to make it work financially.” She can be self-deprecating when talking about her early life in music. “I picked up a pawn shop guitar when I was 21 and started writing really bad songs immediately.” But then the bold, fiery, enigmatic side comes out; “I played my first open mic night several months after teaching myself a few chords on the guitar. It was scary and exhilarating. Prior to music, I sort of felt like I was watching my life from a distance—but performing put me solidly in my own skin. I used to get nervous in the open mic days… but not with The Patti Fiasco.”
She might take some of that boldness from the musical influences she has that she says are “all over the place,” and include: “The Riot grrrl movement. Beautiful, empty, weird, radical Wyoming. Neil Young doing whatever he wants whenever he wants. Beck doing everything he does. Annie Lennox, Tina Tuner, Joan Jett, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Alynda Lee Seguerra (Hurray for the Riff Raff), and Cary Ann Hearst (Shovels and Rope) to name a few badass ladies. Collaborating with Staci Foster (Texas singer/songwriter) has been hugely influential. She has such a wild and beautiful and transcendental sound. Being around that has fundamentally changed the way I write songs.”
These influences also keep her highly interested in the integrity of the music she's making. “I don’t want anything to get in the way of the energy behind the songs and the playing. I want everybody in the crowd to feel free for an hour, and I want to feel free too. It’s inevitable that you’ll make mistakes, it’s inevitable that some people won’t like it, but I’ll never let that concern me.”
The Patti Fiasco is currently about halfway done with their third full-length album. “We’re set to finish tracking during our next session at Denver’s ‘Mighty Fine Productions,’ February 6th- 9th.” Kraft says, “It’s easily our most rock and roll release to date and we’re looking forward to releasing it with a bang and a full summer of touring. In late 2014, we joined Denver’s Vinefield Agency (Shel, The Yawpers), and thanks to help from new manager, Jen Korte, we’ve been exposed to bigger and bigger national audiences and bigger and bigger stages. There’s a momentum behind the band now unlike anytime before. I’ve never been more excited about the music we were making or prospects on the horizon.”
Check out The Patti Fiasco & Mama Lenny and the Remedy Love Fest at Hodi’s Half Note on Friday, February 13 at 8:00pm, and catch up with them on their website pattifiasco.net or on Facebook.
CD Review - published in February 2015 - Scene Magazine
Ben
Gallagher has been making art rock, playing mountain country,
accompanying ballets and avant garde art performance as well as
playing Abraham Lynch, the pianist from the dark, zombie-death-polka
band, The Widow's Bane. Recently, he has branched out on his own and
created a solo masterpiece called Heart Shaped Rocks. Released in
January 2015, Ben Gallagher's album is brooding, poetic genius. It's
a perfect album to lose yourself in and the intriguing,
thought-provoking lyrics and unique sounds pull you back to a
different era; a simpler time. Dogs howling in the background, songs
fading into the ice cream man's tune, a Green Bullet microphone, and
several other talented musicians including drummer, Jon Mouser, and
trumpeter, Tung Pham, (of the Widow's Bane) add to the
complexity and depth of this album. “Beleaguered” has a simple,
repetitive lyric that is driven home with a building crescendo of
instruments. “What My Father Told Me” has been performed by Ben
with the Widow's Bane, and has an up-beat break similar to some of
their other songs. “Missing Pieces” is a great look at a
relationship, and “College” is an ironic tale about what it takes
to get a degree. All in all, this album is an incredible journey to
take with a talented, old soul.
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By Rebecca LaPole
